KKK Calls For ‘Shoot To Kill’ Policy On Undocumented Child Immigrants (Video)

Where is CPS?

The KKK is calling for the death of children and not one child welfare organization has stepped up to the plate.

Where are the religious communities?

Where are all the "Save the children" folks?  (crickets)
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Ranking Member Conyers Statement at Child Trafficking Hearing

(WASHINGTON) – Today, the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing entitled, “Innocence for Sale: Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking.” During his opening remarks, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) delivered the following statement:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“Today’s hearing examines the growing epidemic of minor sex trafficking, an absolutely abhorrent practice, that each year entraps more than 100,000 minors - roughly between the age 12 and 14 - into prostitution or child pornography. Although these children come from all socio-economic classes, races, and genders, they all share in common their vulnerability. As we begin our focus on this issue, it must be recognized that these children are victims; they are not criminals, and they should not be treated so,” said Conyers.

“Predators seize upon the insecurities and weakness of these children, whether they are runaways and shelter youth, kids in foster care, or just ‘throwaways’ who have been emotionally and psychologically neglected their whole lives. As such, they are particularly vulnerable to pimps, predators, and sex traffickers through violence, coercion, and fraud. And, when children who have fallen prey to the sex trade are treated as criminals rather than victims, this just further compounds their injuries. They become very afraid to seek help, particularly from law enforcement because of the risk that they will be treated as criminals rather than victims. Instead of criminalizing what these children do, we must ensure that they are recognized for what they:  victims.

“Second, much more needs to be done to improve how we assist these horribly exploited children. They are physically traumatized, often being sold for 10 to 15 sex acts per night. One child may be raped more than 5,000 times in a single year. The extent of the resultant emotional and psychological trauma they endure is hard to fathom. These victims - in order to regain their lives - must receive specialized counseling, educational services, and housing to ensure their physical and mental rehabilitation. Without these specialized programs, these young boys and girls often run away to return back to their abusers because of the unique trauma bonding that occurs between the victim and the trafficker. Yet, there are far too few shelter beds available nationwide to provide for the unique needs of children crushed by the commercial sex trade. We owe it to these youngsters and to our society to help them overcome the horrors that they have been put through.

“Lastly, we must consider how technology and the Internet have enabled the minor sex trafficking business and what this industry can do to help law enforcement stop this crime. After our last hearing on minor sex trafficking in 2010, Craigslist shut down its ‘adult services’ section, which was a primary source of online advertising for the commercial sex trade for both adults and minors. However, this may have been a Pyrrhic  victory. Online sex trafficking has continued, but now in a more dispersed fashion. For example, Backpage.com has roughly 70% of the market share of Internet advertising for the sex trade. It is critical that effective ways for law enforcement to collaborate with these companies be developed so that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are ultimately brought to justice. We must also consider how to rein in the use of decentralized advertising and foreign-based entities that increasingly disseminate this advertising. And, we must also explore how to better educate minors to avoid online predators. More than ever, pimps and traffickers are using social networking sites to coerce and cajole vulnerable children into the sex trade by preying on their insecurities.

“To conclude, I hope that this will be the beginning of a larger discussion that will include human trafficking and labor trafficking. For now, however, I am sure that we can come together in a bipartisan manner to address the evils of juvenile sex trafficking and to find ways that will improve the lives of the far too many children who have already been exploited. We have addressed similar issues in the past, and we should look to such legislation for guidance.  For instance, we should consider effectuating a national standard of care for victims of juvenile sex trafficking, just as past Congresses have for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, to ensure that the these youths receive proper care. Portions of Mr. Poe’s bill will also serve this cause well, as it recognizes the need to greatly improve services to children affected by the scourge of sex trafficking by setting up a revenue neutral fund to provide them aid and creates block grants for sex trafficking deterrence. We should also take steps to curb demand by assisting state and local agencies enforce laws that are already on the books when it comes to dealing with ‘johns’ who patronize minors, as this is a key component in fighting the exploitation of minors. However, we must be careful in creating new federal laws and mandatory minimums in this area, as new federal mandatory minimums for ‘johns’ may lead to unintended consequences.

“Tomorrow, the Task Force on Over-Criminalization will be holding a hearing on the over-federalization of criminal laws, and this is just such an instance where state laws that are in place may be just as, or even more effective, in combating demand when they are enforced than a new federal mandatory minimum. I know that we can work together to bring an end to the evils of juvenile sex trafficking, and I look forward to hearing the testimony of our witnesses.”

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How long it takes a child SSI claim to be processed

The attached final report presents the results of our audit. Our objective was to determine the average overall processing times for childhood Supplemental Security Income disability claims decided in Calendar Year 2010 by the disability determination services, hearing offices, Appeals Council, and Federal Courts. 

Overall Processing Times for 2010 Childhood Supplemental Security Income Claims (A-04-12-11230)

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Michigan Audit of Children's Ombudsman Politically Problematic.

The Michigan Auditor General released its findings on the investigative operations of the Office of Children's Ombudsman.  The general tone of the report was that the Ombudsman's investigations were partially effective due to the lack of technological access to the Department of Human Services databases and files.

Due to the fact that the Auditor General has locked all reports since I started publishing them for general accessibility, I have been reduced, for lack of resources, to posting a personally created, direct link to the final report.  Here it is.

There are other reasons why the Ombudsman investigations into abuses of children under the auspices of the state are, in my words, perfunctory.  It is because of:

(1) a lack of necessary resources and staff; and,

(2) a status quo culture.

A lack of necessary resources and staff:
The office has about 13 investigators to take on the entire State of Michigan child welfare system, far more than 39,000 children and youth.  That equates to a responsibility of investigation of about 3,000 children per staff.   The child welfare system includes cps, foster care, its child placing agencies, adoption services, juvenile justice, and mental/medical health, and education.

Typically, on any given day, there is only one person to man the phones for intake.  Within a few minutes of the conversation with the concernedly distraught person, the "screener" can determine if there is a violation by, and I quote directly from a House Hearing a few years back when a representative from the office testified that she screened by, "thinking fast on my feet".

"Think fast on her feet" caused one kid to be murdered and a few others to be raped and tortured.

Out of about 1,000 calls a year, there are less than 10% that are investigated.  Out of that number, many are designated into the category of "Valid, not open".  This means that violations of law and policy were found but the office will not act upon it.

Acting upon a valid violation would mean that there is mandate for referral to the counties prosecutor or Attorney General for further investigation and prosecution but the office does not have the authoritative resources for this because the Ombudsman, Verlie Ruffin, takes the helm as the perfunctory prissy lil missy who has successfully made sure that the public and elected officials have no idea of who she is or what she does or what she has been doing throughout her tenure.

I am not one for scurrilous attacks, I just present the facts.  Not one single referral has been made the counties prosecutors or Attorney General for violations of law or policy.  See reference statute below:

Per the Children's Ombudsman Act 204 of 1994, MCL 722.927 §7(4) in relevant part:

If the ombudsman finds in the course of an investigation that an individual's action is in violation of state or federal criminal law, the ombudsman shall immediately report that fact to the county prosecutor or the attorney general.  If the complaint is against a child placing agency the ombudsman shall refer the matter to the department for further action with respect to licensing.

Michigan Peremptory Mandamus Petition by Beverly Tran

A status quo culture:

The Office of Children's Ombudsman, under the failed leadership of Verlie Ruffin, has powers beyond getting hair and nails done once a week.  The ombudsman has the blessing of Michigan's greatest Attorney General Frank Kelley, to investigate the Michigan Children's Institute (MCI).  Not only has the ombudsman denied authority to investigate MCI, to date, it has never done so.

Attorney General Opinion of Authority for Office of Children's Ombudsman to Investigate Decisions of Michig... by Beverly Tran

It is my opinion, therefore in answer to your second question, that the Children's Ombudsman Act gives children's ombudsman the authority to investigate adoption decisions of the Michigan Children's Institute and to obtain adoption records of the Michigan Children's Institute.

Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley, 1996 

The reason I mention MCI is not because the Auditor General has never, ever audited this secret operation which warehouses the guardianship for more than 7,000 children of the state under the legal authority of one, omnipotent Superintendent, Bill Johnson, it has never been investigated for the deaths, abuses and neglects of children who were subject to a class action settlement agreement.  Not one time during the course of the entire lawsuit was MCI ever mentioned.

The status quo of OCO is to remain inconspicuous and do nothing to change operations.  The more people know about the duties of the office, the more work must be done but in a culture of administrative stagnation in child welfare, the longer the administrative keystone cops can ride out a paycheck until they can safely retire, the greater the job security.

To prove my point that the Director, Verlie Ruffin has not done shit for the office, here is the direct link to the site.  http://www.michigan.gov/oco

• The site has not been updated, revamped, edited since it was originally built.  
• There are no social networks.  
• There are no community networks.  
• There is no history of the office.
• There is no referral policy for public or private agencies to give out its contact information. 
• There is no appeal process when denied, in that quick on your feet telephone interview.  
• There is no legislative action to ask for more funding and resources. 
• There is no initiative to even privately subcontract.  
• There is no complaint process against an investigation.  
• There are no press releases on current statewide activities.  
• There are no public speaking engagements.  
• There are no guest appearances.  
• There is no annual agenda of priorities.  
• There is not even a logical explanation why only a selected few are granted a limited investigation.  
• There is no reason why there are no referrals for criminal activities to the counties prosecutors or attorney general.  
• There is not even a picture of Verlie Ruffin, the Ombudsman.  
• Hell, the ombudsman is not even gender neutral considering the ombudsman is a woman.   
• There are no community partnerships.  
• There are no public awareness campaigns.  
• There is no recordkeeping for suicides in foster care.
• There is no recordkeeping for sexual assaults in foster care.
• There is no recordkeeping for drug ovedoses in foster care (prescription or street)
• Five will get you ten there is no letter of appointment of the Governor, with advice and consent of the Senate, on file with the office of the Great Seal of the State Department.

I want to see a public database of the number of referrals, and other more detailed variables of investigative findings.  It can be done on an excel spreadsheet by some interns without compromising confidential information.  I even know where to find funding for these initiatives.

I want an audit of MCI and a separate division for investigations of complaints.

I know for a fact that DHS has refused to respond to investigative inquiries of the office since 2005.  It is now 2013 and Ruffin has not done a damn thing to ensure her staff has full access to the databases and files of DHS.  She knew about it and made sure to sweep the problem under the rug, just like she did over at Luthern Family Services.

All in all, the investigative staff of the OCO are wonderful people who engage in grueling work under pressure, in a politically constrained environment with limited resources.  The ombudsman is lazy and refuses to participate in change.  She lets people get away with murder and condones the filing of millions in false claims by these contracted child placing agencies.  She covers up for her cronies like Steve Yager and Bill Johnson.

She needs to resign, yesterday.  Bitch needs to go, now.  I dare someone to challenge me on this.


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State of the Detroit Child

The well-being of Detroit’s children reflects the whole city’s health. During the past decade, the average Detroiter suffered large income declines, losing nearly one-third of household income, due to high levels of home foreclosures, middle-class flight, and job loss. Opportunities to rebuild family wealth have been few and far between: official unemployment rates have been in the double digits for years, and are currently as high as 50 percent as a result of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Now, many residents who were able to make a good living in manufacturing with a high school diploma or less are faced with an economy which requires advanced training up to post-secondary education. Families navigating the financial insecurity of job loss, unemployment, foreclosure, or the simple stress of uncertain times, cannot hide the enormity of these events from their children. 

Detroit’s children struggled in 2010. 

As measured by their status on indicators of health, development, academic achievement, and family and community resources, Detroit’s children are faring far worse than the average Michigan child. A comparison of child well-being in Detroit to national averages reveals nothing less than a state of crisis for Detroit’s children. 

The most chilling reality of this report is that not one elected official will address these findings because kids cannot vote.

State of the Detroit Child 2010Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

The importance of Governor Corbett's action is not that he is suing the NCAA but the fact that he used to be the State Attorney General.  Just for clarification, the AG is the one who "protects" children.

For years, Corbett turned a blind eye to what was going on in Pennsylvania.  Remember the "Kids 4 Cash" scandal where judges were getting kickbacks for sending kids to state juvenile facilities?

Or how about the millions in Medicaid fraud in child welfare that was allowed to perpetuate under Corbett's administration?

What Corbett should be doing is making his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and his Department of Health get together and start referring.

If children had a voice, none of this would have happened.  If Corbett would have listened, none of this would have happened.

Penn State Sanctions Prompt Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett To Sue NCAA

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Corbett said Tuesday he plans to sue the NCAA in federal court over stiff sanctions imposed against Penn State University in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal.

The Republican governor scheduled a Wednesday news conference on the Penn State campus in State College to announce the filing in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg.

A person associated with the university and knowledgeable about the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the lawsuit had not been filed, told The Associated Press that it is an antitrust action.

The NCAA sanctions, which were agreed to by the university in July, included a $60 million fine that would be used nationally to finance child abuse prevention grants. The sanctions also included a four-year bowl game ban for the university's marquee football program, reduced football scholarships and the forfeiture of 112 wins but didn't include a suspension of the football program, the so-called death penalty.

The governor's office announced the news conference late Tuesday afternoon. His spokesman did not respond to repeated calls and emails seeking to confirm a Sports Illustrated story that cited anonymous sources saying a lawsuit was imminent.

Corbett's brief statement did not indicate whether his office coordinated its legal strategy with state Attorney General-elect Kathleen Kane, who is scheduled to be sworn in Jan. 15.

Kane, a Democrat, ran on a vow to investigate why it took state prosecutors nearly three years to charge Sandusky, an assistant under former football coach Joe Paterno. Corbett was the attorney general when that office took over the case in early 2009 and until he became governor in January 2011.

State and congressional lawmakers from Pennsylvania have objected to using the Penn State fine to finance activities in other states. Penn State has already made the first $12 million payment, and an NCAA task force is deciding how it should be spent.

The NCAA, which declined to comment Tuesday on the planned lawsuit, has said at least a quarter of the money would be spent in Pennsylvania.

Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent called that an "unacceptable and unsatisfactory" response by the NCAA to a request from the state's U.S. House delegation that the whole $60 million be distributed to causes within the state.

Last week, state Sen. Jake Corman, a Republican whose district includes Penn State's main campus, said he plans to seek court action barring any of the first $12 million from being released to groups outside the state.

Sandusky, 68, was convicted in June on charges he sexually abused 10 boys, some on Penn State's campus. He's serving a 30- to 60-year state prison term.

Eight young men testified against him, describing a range of abuse they said went from grooming and manipulation to fondling, oral sex and anal rape when they were boys.

Sandusky did not testify at his trial but has maintained his innocence, acknowledging he showered with boys but insisting he never molested them.

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Buy American, Adopt American

UNICEF estimates that there are about 740,000 children without parental custody in Russia.


Children's Defense Fund estimates there are over 400,000 children in foster care in the U.S.  Unfortunately, the Children's Bureau is unable to estimate the number of legal orphans in foster care because states do not maintain data on termination of parental rights of both parents.  This number (104,000) does not include youth in juvenile institutions, who are also considered children without parental custody.  

So, why is it these Christian adoption organizations are not advocating the adoption of children who are U.S. citizens?  Perhaps, it is an issue of inequity.  Perhaps it is a tax credit.

Support America.  Adopt U.S. Kids

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Fiscal Cliff Examines How We Care For Children

Does this make any sense to you?

Average Earned Income Credit (EIC): $2,200

Adoption Tax Credit: $12,650  + Adoption Subsidy: $7,740 = $20,390

We are willing to pay a stranger over $20,000 a year to raise someone else's child who was poor/low income* but will only provide a tax credit of $2,000 to a natural family?  This is a 1:10 ratio.

* For clarification purposes, reference to an economic descriptive is to illuminate the fact many families cannot access mental health services for a child unless there is a voluntary child abuse case filed in the court.  Some states will call it "incorrigibility".  This is the only way to access funding for a child's mental health services because these services do not exist outside of foster care or private insurance companies refuse coverage.  Some have calculated foster care costs over $80 billion a year, majority reimbursed through Medicaid, because the nation refuses to talk about mental health.

The adoption child tax credit is a good way of helping children  but I only want to know why there is such a disparity.  The playing field needs to be leveled. 

Adoption Tax Credit Could Fall Off Fiscal Cliff

The adoption child tax credit is one of the many parts of the U.S. tax code that could change dramatically on Jan. 1, 2013, if Congress and President Barack Obama do not act.

Adoption advocates worry the During the President George W. Bush administration the adoption tax credit was increased from $6,000 to $12,650 and made refundable (meaning that even families who do not pay taxes can receive the credit.) This was part of a larger package of changes to the tax code, including rate cuts, that were set to expire in 2010. In March 2010, the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," extended the expanded adoption tax credit through 2011. In December 2010, Congress and Obama agreed to a two-year extension of all the Bush tax code changes, so they are now set to expire at the end of 2012.

Congress is currently meeting in a "lame duck" session and these changes, part of the so-called fiscal cliff, will be a large part of the agenda.

If no changes are made, the adoption tax credit will return to $6,000 and non-refundable. As many now know because of Mitt Romney's infamous "47 percent" gaffe, about half of wage earners paid no income tax last year, after taking into account all deductions and credits. These families would receive no help through the tax code with the costs of adoption if the credit returns to being non-refundable.

The adoption tax credit was also made "flat" for special needs adoptions to encourage the adoption of children in foster care. This means that families who adopt children who qualify as special needs can claim the full credit without having to claim qualified expenses.

A study by Mary Hansen, associate professor of economics at American University, found that because children raised in foster care have more difficulties as adults, each child adopted from foster care saves about $235,000 in costs to the government over the life of the child.

To raise awareness of the adoption tax credit, 139 adoption and child welfare organizations have joined Save the Adoption Tax Credit. For more information about the adoption tax credit, visit its website or Facebook page.

It should be noted that the Adoption Tax Credit and Subsidy was not calculated into the estimated costs of child welfare report. 2012 Estimated Costs of Child Welfare Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Fiscal Cliff Hurts Children

As the date looms for what is called the "fiscal cliff" there is very little discussion on what this actually means to the low income family.

To begin with, a major part of this "fiscal cliff" has to deal with the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) which expired in 2011.  This means taxes are going to increase on Middle and Lower Class families, but let us examine the impact on Lower Class families.

Tax returns, or more specifically the Earned Income Credit (EIC) will be delayed.  The EIC is the lifeline for low income communities and in most cases, it is the last hope for struggling families.

In many instances, low income families file for the EIC to keep a roof over their heads.  Many are single mothers who do not work, mostly because there are no jobs and a lack of transportation to jobs that traditionally pay minimum wage.  These parents supplement their income with odd service jobs to make ends meet.

So, let's examine what would happen is the EIC is delayed until March 2013 or later.

Many cannot afford Christmas gifts for the family.  This is why local economies will be injected with a boost with shopping sprees for the children.  Local merchants would not generate the traditional January business (early filing) and would be stuck with overstock.  More than that, these merchants who rely upon this boom would not be able to make quarterly property and income tax payments.  Struggling businesses may be forced to shut down.

Also, many families use this EIC to pay property taxes.  When property taxes are not paid, there would be created an artificial whole in local governmental budgets, affecting public services and payless paydays.

The EIC is issued during the coldest months of the year, forcing many families to turn to state assistance to stay in their homes and keep the heat on.  The burden of increased applications for social assistance would in turn strain local governmental budgets, which are already facing unexpected unpaid property taxes.

In some events, educational, medical and child welfare service budgets, already strained, would be pushed to the brink of implosion as children would be forced to rely upon the system because of the delay of the EIC.

As Congress plays the political game of tax rates, keep in mind, taxpayers will pay in the end and it will mostly be the children of the Middle and Lower Classes.

It is time to include children in the tax debates.

IRS Letter on Delay of 2012 Tax Returns

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It seems the State of Michigan is finally stepping up to the plate to assume its duties of providing for the necessary needs of its citizens, especially the children.

This is what the child welfare system is suppose to do: work in tangent with other agencies which will open access to various federal funding streams.

 It seems the state is listening to me.

State to target blighted Detroit neighborhoods

Lansing— The state's plan to help Detroit demolish houses, cut crime and send social workers into at least three schools could be a template for efforts in other struggling cities, officials said Friday.
Gov. Rick Snyder's office said it is about to roll out a plan to send a SWAT team of police, bulldozers and officials from the Department of Human Services this fall to clean up east side city neighborhoods rife with crime. The effort's goal is to make routes safer for children walking to school.

The areas around two middle schools — Ronald Brown and J.E. Clark preparatory academies — and a high school, East English Village Preparatory Academy, will be the focus, said O'Dell Tate, president of the MorningSide neighborhood association, a community partner in the project.
The three schools are in or adjacent to the MorningSide neighborhood, which is bordered by East Outer Drive, Alter Road, Harper and Mack avenues.

DHS director Maura Corrigan said Friday as many as six Detroit schools could become pilot projects this fall. If proven effective, the effort will be expanded to Flint, Pontiac and Saginaw — the other Michigan cities among the nation's Top 10 for violent crime, according to the governor's office.
Snyder has made helping those four cities fight crime a priority, singling them out in a special address he gave in March on public safety.

"The goal is targeted and focused use of demolition dollars in neighborhoods that are identified for revitalization so that taxpayer dollars can be used in the most effective way," Corrigan said.
"Our goal is to take what we learn from these efforts and spread it around to other Michigan cities."
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, in a statement Friday, said the plan "reinforces my position that tangible assistance from the state is critical to our efforts to transform Detroit."

Bing said Snyder plans to use money from the National Mortgage Settlement Fund to pay for the demolitions.

Last month, Bing said the city planned to tear down 1,500 dangerous and abandoned structures by the end of September. The 90-day campaign is part of a goal to demolish 10,000 vacant structures by the end of his four-year term in December 2013.

Corrigan said putting social workers into the schools will make it easier for families to get vital services.

"(Snyder's) goal is all 135 elementary schools in the four core cities," she said.

Details of the plans were reported Friday by Deadline Detroit, an online news publication.
State and local agencies have been working for months to identify rotting structures to be torn down, Corrigan said. Detroit firefighters with the help of the Army Corps of Engineers have spent hundreds of volunteer hours snapping pictures of vacant buildings near the schools.

It's unclear how much the plan for Detroit will cost.

Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said extra police and bulldozers will be brought in to clean up crime and raze abandoned houses.

"This ties into what the Gov. Snyder has been talking about for some time and is one of the ways the state can help support the city, Wurfel said in an email to The News.

It "builds upon the state's commitment to help address blight as outlined in the financial stability agreement between the city and state," she added.

Tate said the plan would be rolled out Aug. 2 at Clark Preparatory Academy.

"The governor's office, the mayor's office, the sheriff's office and many other departments are all involved and on board," Tate said. "This is going to be a phenomenal project."

Roy Roberts, Detroit schools' emergency financial manager, confirmed the district has been working on a plan with the governor's office and other agencies.

The plan "is centered around making the school the hub of the community," Roberts said in a statement Friday.

The plan addresses "factors that impact the academic potential of the students in those environments: Health, safety, secure routes, stable housing, community and volunteer support," he added.

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Conyers: To Prevent Student Loan Rate Increase, Conservatives Would Jeopardize Women’s Health than End Big Oil Subsidies

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) voted against a Republican bill, H.R. 4628, that cuts funding to programs important to women and children’s health.  Representative Conyers strongly supports blocking the scheduled increase in student loan debt but favors a Democratic alternative bill, H.R. 4816, which offsets the cost by closing corporate tax loopholes for Big Oil companies.  The Republican proposal would divert funds from the Prevention and Public Health Fund (“PPH Fund”), created as part of the landmark Affordable Care Act.  The PPH Fund provides funding for critical programs, including breast and cervical cancer screenings and vaccinations for underserved children.        

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“I am glad the Conservative Majority has finally agreed with President Obama that Congress must take steps to prevent the scheduled doubling of student loan rates,” said Conyers. “If the economy is to continue recovering, Congress must take steps to ensure that America’s students do not graduate into the job market saddled with unnecessary extra debt.  However, I cannot support a bill that would offset the cost of doing so by slashing funding to programs critical to the health of middle and working class women and their families. 

“Only this Conservative Majority could come up with a ‘solution’ that hinges on cutting spending for women’s health rather than ending corporate tax subsidies to Big Oil companies.  I strongly support the Democratic alternative bill that blocks this unnecessary increase in student loan rates and pays for it by closing corporate tax loopholes.  The entire Nation reaps the benefits of a well-educated, healthy population and it is time that every sector of our society pay its fair share.”            

  

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Children Can Vote

Big Pharma Uses Poor Kids As Lab Rat

Ah, what the Big Pharma won't do for a dollar. What is worst is that most of these drugs that are being pushed for approval are done, not just on American foster kids, but on the other poor kids of the world.

There is a term for this practice, and it is almost appropriately labeled "Orphan Drugs."

An Orphan Drug is one that is intended for rare diseases. Orphan Drug legislation encourages Big Pharma to "speed up" research and development of these drugs. Where the profit margins are lower compared to adult drug profit margins (I base this on the census numbers of children v. adults in the country. and the fact that the U.S. one of the highest infant mortality rates for westernized nations.)

The best part is nobody in the U.S. will do anything to stop it.  Free market principles, you know. 

"If you do not wish to be a lab rat, then get a job."

"Save a lab rat, test a poor kid." 


HHS OIG Orphan Drug Act Implementation and Impact

This is why Big Pharma pimps policy for innovative financing, even on an international level.

Lab rats? Drugs for US children tried on Indians

Read more: Lab rats? Drugs for US children tried on Indians - US - World - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Lab-rats-Drugs-for-US-children-tried-on-Indians/articleshow/6423130.cms#ixzz0xeCZNQBz

NEW YORK: A law intended to speed up development of new drugs for US kids has ended up financing clinical trials in poor countries, where the medicines might never become available.

That's the conclusion of a new report whose authors say the situation raises ethical concerns. More than a third of the published trials performed under 1997 legislation called the Pediatric Exclusivity Provision were carried out at least partly in developing or transitioning nations, such as Uganda and India, researchers found.

"The trend that we describe brings up some scientific and ethical problems," said Dr Sara Pasquali, a pediatrician at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, whose findings appear in the journal Pediatrics.

"Oftentimes, access to a study may be the only access to medical care a family has," she said of trial participants in developing countries. Once the testing is done, however, it's unclear if effective drugs will be marketed in the country in question, and whether they will be affordable.

Among the 174 trials the researchers examined, drugs against infectious diseases were most likely to be tested in the developing world, closely followed by heart, allergy and arthritis medications.
"We are now using vulnerable people in vulnerable countries as drug laboratories," Dr Marcia Angell, who was not involved in the new research, said. "It is all about dollars and cents."

The idea behind the Pediatric Exclusivity Provision is to incentivize development of drugs for children in the US.

Because many diseases are rare in childhood, clinical trials usually target adults only, and their results don't automatically extend to kids. The pediatric provision grants companies an extra six months of patent life if they test their drugs in kids as well.

So far, those patent extensions have netted drugmakers an estimated $14 billion dollars, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. At the same time, more than 150 drugs have been approved for children since 1997, said Pasquali.
According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade association, there is no difference in the way trials are conducted in the US and abroad.

M Nabeel Ghayur, a pharmacologist who worked in drug development in Pakistan before joining McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, said conditions are similar in India and Pakistan.

"People actually have blind trust in their doctor in South Asia. They have no idea what drug development is, they have no idea what clinical trials are," he said. reuters

Read more: Lab rats? Drugs for US children tried on Indians - US - World - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Lab-rats-Drugs-for-US-children-tried-on-Indians/articleshow/6423130.cms#ixzz0xeBqpvPZ

HHS OIG Challenges to FDA's Ability to Monitor and Inspect Foreign Clinical Trials 2010

Report Child Misuse

If they can report, so can we.

If you suspect waste, fraud or abuse in the educational system, report today.  The children are the future, don't let it be stolen.

Indiana Medicaid Fraud In Child Welfare

Here will be one of my textbook examples of a Medicaid Fraud Scheme in Child Welfare.

What is contained within this fraud scheme are key components to validate what I have coined as child abuse propaganda.

Without being said, I will immediately question whether any of the children were temporary/permanent wards of the state, (i.e. foster care, adoption).

It is organizations such as these who present these false data to be compiled to develop public policy. What is most statistically egregious is the national data will never be amended.

This happens everyday all across the nation.

State Investigation of Whistleblower Lawsuit Supports Medicaid Fraud Allegations Against Madison Center

For more than 10 years, Madison Center actively sought and enrolled low-income, "problem students" from the local school system and enrolled them in its day treatment program. To boost its Medicaid revenues even more, Madison Center would convince parents that the siblings of those students also should be sent to Madison Center for treatment instead of school, the "qui tam" (whistleblower) lawsuit says.

But the children weren't properly diagnosed, and they were given little or no treatment to help them, according to the whistleblower lawsuit. Since the children's families were poor, Medicaid covered the Madison Center's charges for the treatment the children supposedly received. The state estimates it paid Madison Center more than $10 million in Medicaid payments for fraudulent billing charges.

It seems people are finally listening to me...and I have so much more to say.

Madison Center Qui Tam False Claims Act Complaint

DTE and Children Went through the Whole

DTE: Illegal power hookup resumed hours before fatal fire

By AMBER HUNT AND TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

Within hours of DTE Energy cutting off service to the home because it had been hooked up illegally for months, two locks that had been placed by the utility on the electric meter box had been cut off — and power was restored.

The Detroit Fire Department is investigating whether that second illegal hookup led to the Tuesday deaths of three children – Travion Young, 5, Salena, 3, and Fantasia, 4 – after a blaze tore through the two-story home.

Very sad.

What saddened me the most were the comments left on this story.

There were those who blamed the big monster DTE and there were those who blamed the welfare queen.

I blame the tragic deaths of these three children on Michigan Lawmakers.

In Michigan, particularly Detroit, times are economically challenging, to say the least. Social resources are virtually gone. There is very little affordable, decent housing, so many times, a person will take what they can get and make the most of it, particularly when they have children.

Parents tend to do whatever they must to care and provide for their children, even if it means an illegal hook up, because if they do not, those are grounds for removal of the children and have them placed into foster care.

DTE did what it is suppose to do as a business. It did not receive payment of services and, justly, terminated services.

There was a loophole in the law.

Popular belief is that there is law on the books of Michigan that says the energy companies cannot turn off utilities in the winter. That is not the case.

There are two eligibility criteria:

(1) You must be considered an "eligible senior citizen customer";

(2) You must be able to pay 7% of the estimated annual bill within 14 days of shut off.

Children fell through the loophole and through the social safety net to die.

There are more resources, advocacy and protection for senior than children in a family.

Notice, that I make the statement, "children in a family" because that would deem foster care, a welfare program, which is many times more costly to the public than helping with utilities and housing. I read the comments and cringed that people would condemn a person for being poor.

Each child removed costs taxpayers in the range of $10,000 to $150,000 a year, and many times much more depending on the classification of the case. I did not calculate staff, Medicaid services, courts, administration, training, buildings, fraud, waste and abuse. That would triple the numbers.

A monthly gas bill during the winter in Detroit is about $500. You do the math.

The lawmakers of Michigan need to obviate. This means to provide for the future. Michigan is going through a series of policy changes in Medicaid that would do just that. Perhaps the resources this family needed to prevent the deaths of these children.

The people need to redirect their outrage toward Michigan lawmakers and demand investments in resources for a profitable return of its future citizens.

The whole policy system allowed DTE and children to go though, with no consideration of the future.

Be Very Medicaid Fraudulently Quiet

In an editorial posted October 22, 2009, the Michigan Department of Community Health Director, Janet Olszweski, drastically failed to identify numerous key issues, outside of “efforts to leverage federal funding” as to why the state is challenged in meeting the needs of the people.

Ms. Olszweski has failed to identify herself as the State Medicaid Director. The role of the State Medicaid Director is to establish policy under the guidance and clarification from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Unfortunately, she has neglected to address Medicaid policy in dealing with fraud, waste and abuse.

Senator Kahn recently introduced SB 942 calling for the creation of a State Medicaid Inspector General to open discussions surrounding Auditor General reports documenting evidence of over $1 billion in Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse.

As it stands, the state is in a position of a future decrease in the Federal Funding Percentage, meaning it will loose even more federal dollars. The program’s funding levels have remained stagnant since 2000 because the state is not in compliance with federal funding mandates.

Olszewski may place the state in a precarious position if she were to raise the issue of Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse because the Michigan Medicaid Fraud Unit, housed in the Department of Attorney General and funded DHHS, does absolutely no activities in prosecution and recovery of Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse in child welfare, as it would be an inherent conflict of interest: the Attorney General cannot prosecute itself.

In essence, if the State Medicaid Director even whispered one word regarding the issue of Medicaid fraud, Michigan would be faced with even more substantial cuts in federal funding or possible federal receivership.

There is funding for program services and the opportunity for even more and efficient servicing will only come once the state takes a mea culpa stance for dropping the ball on accountability and transparency, because it never refers violations of federal and state law in Medicaid funded programs to the Attorney General.

Until the state implements policy for contractual debarment, revocation, sanctions and prosecution for recovery of funds in dealing with Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse, the only recourse for the existence of Medicaid funded programming will be through begging and taxing, at the expense of our most vulnerable populations.

And Then The Bat Ran...

The initials of my forename are B.A., making it a playful theme as "the bat ran". This theme shall be the name of my youngest son's first literary publication, rightfully entitled: "The Bat Ran".

I am quite sure there are many individuals who are curious as to why I have chosen to run for the public office of Hamtramck City Council. Now is my time to share with you my passion:

It is really quite simple; I am running not only for my children, but for all children. I have never been one to run away from a confrontation, as I do greatly enjoy and encourage dissent, for it is part of the democratic process and a core component of scientific methodology. A theory may only stand the test of time if it can withstand rigorous and robust challenges.

The theory I challenge is that children may not participate in the political process.

Many of you may not know that the national landscape in dealing with matters of family is quickly changing due to the fact that the world is getting smaller, rather we are coming closer together. Hamtramck, with its rich international social fabric, has historically been a unique and progressive municipality in its structure of government. Many families move to this city for the small town comfort of raising a family.

From my research, there are only two instances of the term "children" in the city ordinances I have been able to review, and that term was used as a descriptive for day care facility. No one is willing to listen to our children, and this is the reason I am running for office: to give children a voice, to give the parents opportunities.

I would like to start a junior government. This is how it would work:

• The children will have to abide by current campaign laws of the State of Michigan.
  
• They will solicit signatures in each of their respective schools and submit them to a designated student clerk.
  
• Then, they will have to generate campaign material, where the focus will be a green/recycling campaign.
  
• Each student voter will have to go through a mock voter registration process in their classrooms.
  
• Each school will hold a primary election. The top 4 candidates would advance to the general election.
• The top 2 students from each school will make it to the junior city council.
• There will be a similar process for the position of junior Mayor and Junior Judge.
• Youth will be able to address their concerns and solve them.
  
• The junior government may then report their activities and suggestions directly to the City Council.
• Each elected Councilperson will directly mentor the junior government.
• There would be a junior police mentoring program.
  
• These activities may become incorporated into school credit coursework.

In one fell swoop, we would be picking up the task of civic education while encouraging community participation, as this would end up to be a family activity.

I am attempting to run my campaign as a recycling/low-cost process. My business cards were designed by the top political campaign director in the country, Liam Tran, age 9. My campaign literature was printed by a Hamtramck friend who offered the use of his printer and his leftover supplies. My campaign signs, that have been stolen, (the same exact day my car was stolen, as I shall assume for the esoteric value), were made by using old political campaign material I have been collecting throughout the years and old cardboard, clear packaging tape, old hangers, crayons and markers. My campaign headquarters, located at 9725 Conant/Bangledesh Ave., Tristate TaeKwon-Do Federation, in the city, was offered for use by the Grand Master. I just do not see the logic in dropping thousands of dollars in campaign material when the city is suffering economic hardship. It almost seems like a slap in the face of the families struggling through this economic transition.

And then, the bat ran...